Sanctions could be lifted: Analyst

Tehran, Nov. 1, IRNA - Yousef Molaei, an expert on international law, believes lifting of sanctions is negotiable. Molaei made the statement in an interview with the English-language newspaper 'Iran Daily', published Saturday. Responding to a query by the paper on his opinion whether the anti-Iran sanctions will be lifted, Molaei said, there's no law on sanctions in the international arena based on which we can discuss the issue and imposing or lifting sanctions are decided by those states involved. Those states' national laws have nothing to do with international law. The issue of lifting anti-Iran sanctions is negotiable. They can be removed at once after a deal or as the West say can be categorized and lifted over a period of time. That's something both sides should agree upon, Molaei opined to a question posed by the paper in this regard. On what should be done if the West refuses to lift parts of sanctions after an agreement, Molaei stated that if the West agrees to lift the sanctions it is legally bound to do that and if it fails to do so, the issue can be pursued though international legal channels. Regarding the question as to what extent can the West, especially the US, extend the sanctions, the expert said that the US government has the power to impose or lift sanctions on any country as Iran has the power to do so. Therefore, a political solution, and not a legal one, should be sought in order to break the deadlock. The only way is that the US backs off from its stance and agrees to remove the sanctions.